Sterling Heights woman's slaying probed

The Sterling Heights woman found shot to death on Interstate 75 over the weekend had been locked in a decade-long child custody case with the father of one of her two children, according to court records.

Jennifer Ann “Jennie” Scavone had been involved in the legal action over her now 11-year-old son with the boy’s father, Josef Zbercot, since 2003, Macomb Count Circuit Court online records show. They were last in court on Jan. 28 and had additional hearings coming up in March.

A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said investigators are seeking information from a number of her fiance, friends and relatives as they continue to hunt for her killer.

“We are looking at quite a few things right now, that being one of them,” Lt. Michael Shaw said on Sunday.

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Scavone, 32, was attacked while driving home from her job as a shot girl at the Bouzouki nightclub club in the Greektown neighborhood in downtown Detroit.

Her body was found about 3:40 a.m. Saturday inside of her bullet-ridden GMC SUV on the shoulder of northbound I-75 near Mack Avenue in Detroit. State police closed that section of the freeway for several hours as they conducted their investigation.

Shaw said a driver from a Michigan Department of Transportation courtesy van spotted the SUV idling on the shoulder of the freeway and stopped to render assistance. The driver found the woman slumped over the wheel and then noticed several bullet holes in the side of the vehicle. The driver then radioed for Michigan State Police.

State police were not sure how many times Scavone had been shot, but he said drug-sniffing dogs found numerous bullet casings on the side of the freeway. It also wasn’t known if the vehicle had been fired on while she was driving or if she had pulled over and then was attacked.

Scavone was on her way home from Bouzouki’s at the time. A man answering the phone at the bar on Sunday said managers had no comment.

The Wayne County Morgue’s office on Sunday afternoon said officials were waiting for her family to come in and formally identify the body.

A native of Roseville, Scavone was described as a devoted mother of two boys who was in love with her fiancee of four years. She and her fiance, along with the children, had recently moved into a house in Sterling Heights.

Photographs posted on her Facebook page show her with her fiancee and the boys roller skating, visiting Disney World, and playing laser tag.

Among the many Facebook messages she had dedicated to her sons -- 11-year-old Derek and 4-year-old Cody -- was one that read: “My greatest wish is that my kids always know how much I love them and that they walk through the rest of their life knowing I’ll always be there for them anyway I can.”

Friends said those words were not lip service.

“She really was amazing person,” said Jeremy Summers of Flat Rock, who used to work with her. “There wasn’t anything bad about that girl. When she smiled, it was like a big hug from your grandma and your mom, she had that kind of warmth.”

While her current life was content, a relationship from her past continued to cause her stress.

Macomb County Circuit Court records show she had been involved in a contentious court battle with Josef Zbercot, the father of Derek, since 2003. There were issues over child support, parenting time, and grandparents parenting time, according to online records.

Zbercot had a motion to hold Scavone in contempt for allegedly not adhering to a court order and Scavone had motions to suspend or terminate his paternal rights.

They were due to return to court in March.

Zbercot declined to comment at his parent’s house on Sunday, according to his father, John Zbercot.

State Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or has additional information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up. Tips may be phoned in anonymously.